Q&A Question Request: WW2 British small arms
Added 2025-01-06 18:22:14 +0000 UTCIn an effort to make the Q&A videos a bit more focused, I'm going to give each one a specific theme going forward 9or at least, I'm going to give that a try). For January, that theme is small arms of WW2 Britain. What would you like to ask me on that subject?
Comments
American small arms, like Thompsons and handguns, were generally in .45ACP. Was the ammo imported too or were there British sources?
Albini family
2025-03-11 04:56:34 +0000 UTCHow much actual combat use did the DeLisle Carbine see? Is there documentation of its use in specific engagements?
Kevin Burke
2025-03-08 21:57:27 +0000 UTCWhat were some of the strangest or most obscure small arms acquired by the British purchasing commission during The Second World War for either the regular military, Home Guard or other forces that you are aware of? If there are no strange enough picks that come to mind then instead, Why did Britain end up fielding four different heavy cartridges during the war (.50 Vickers, .55 Boys, 15mm Besa and eventually .50 BMG) rather than standardise on a single calibre for their anti tank rifles and heavy machine guns?
Joe Barrett
2025-01-11 03:01:36 +0000 UTCRather late to the party with this post but given the interwar shift from the .455 Webley to the .38/200, how common was it for officers to retain or acquire a .455 Webley due to concerns over "stopping power"? It seems arguments about it during the 30's and 40's sound very similar to concerns soldiers in the US military had changing over from the M1911 to the M9 in the 1980's.
Verdha
2025-01-11 00:20:33 +0000 UTCThe Sten was adopted as an emergency measure to make some auto fie available to infantry squads. Were the Brits aware of the problems with its single feed magazine, and did they give any consideration to modifying the design to dole feed - I know this ended up with eh Patchett/Sterling but what would have been possible during the war?
Oliver Gilkes
2025-01-10 12:43:50 +0000 UTCWith how much better the Owen gun is in terms of reliability while still being cheap to mass produce compared to the sten, why didn’t the British start using/making Owen’s instead of stens? Or at least why Owen’s didn’t see wider use in other fronts?
Northern Relish
2025-01-10 01:14:06 +0000 UTCWere there any examples of an "assault rifle" type weapon developed by the UK during or prior to WW2? I have found reference of a C.E.A.D. developed "Light Self Loading Rifle" in 7.92x33mm Kurz in a March 1946 document from Canadian Major H.L. Forsyth within the digitized Canadian Microfilm Archives, and most sources from blogs and books refer to the E.M.1s and E.M.2 beginning deveopment in 1944. Aside from these breadcrumbs, I haven't found anything concrete such as a functional prototype or trials weapon. Source: Department of National Defence : 1903 Headquarters Central Registry, subject files, 1866-1950 : C-8386, Image 2181-82, heritage.canadiana.ca
Slakrrrrrr
2025-01-09 14:34:03 +0000 UTCWhat caused the accuracy problems with the Jungle Carbine SMLE?
Adam Schindler
2025-01-09 05:52:59 +0000 UTCI suppose I'd ask, if you had to equip a platoon of soldiers today with only British WW2 small arms, what would you pick and why?
Shadow Hawk
2025-01-09 03:12:16 +0000 UTCOh, got another one. About veteran gun bring backs, how much British veterans brought souvenirs, weapons and guns during/after the WW2?
TJ
2025-01-08 21:33:12 +0000 UTCHow widespread was British use of captured enemy equipment? You could think that especially captured German 9mm guns, pistols and SMG´s, did see some use?
TJ
2025-01-08 21:27:19 +0000 UTCI cannot express how wonderful this question is.
Tom DeGisi
2025-01-08 21:05:17 +0000 UTCThe EM-2's magazine has an auto bolt closing feature that you don't see anywhere else AFAIK. Do you see it ever coming back?
Dalbunosky
2025-01-08 19:45:59 +0000 UTCClose question...
Joao Espanha
2025-01-08 18:53:14 +0000 UTCWhy did the UK not have a semi-auto rifle in WW2? Was it because there were a huge number of Lee Enfields available, or did the Brits wake up late to that "need"? If possible, the same question applied to the Germans.
Joao Espanha
2025-01-08 18:52:38 +0000 UTCBritain looked at and tested the Grarand, were any other semi auto's tested, trialled or coincided before and during the war.?.
Ashley Cant
2025-01-08 07:28:15 +0000 UTCNot really British, but Commonwealth related: one of the books I have says that the Germans some how came across Owen Guns and designated them as the MP752(e). Were Owen guns used in the ETO or North Africa and if they were, why didn’t they just use those instead of Thompsons?
Ed Motlin
2025-01-08 04:28:07 +0000 UTCThanks for the great content! Given that the U.S. was a major industrial/logistics supplier for the U.K. in WW2, was it really worth it to design the Sten in 9mm rather than .45 simply to keep using the MP28 magazine? Is magazine design important enough to outweigh the logistics of having to supply 2 different subgun ammunition types for the Thompson and Sten? Relatedly, did the UK make all their own 9mm ammo or did the US set up production to help, despite not using the cartridge at scale themselves?
Grumpy Conquistador
2025-01-08 01:59:44 +0000 UTCThanks. I just couldn't understand why just about every weapon from the Bren gun to the modern M4/AR15 seemed to have magazine of exactly 30 rounds. Things like the FAMAS with a 25 round magazine tend to be a rarity.
Ian Fox
2025-01-08 00:05:32 +0000 UTCWhy was the PIAT regulated as a DD, and more importantly, why has it (recently?) been de-regulated as such by ATF? One sold at Morphy’s last year as a “C&R rifle.”
Nic Green
2025-01-07 21:18:35 +0000 UTCPan mags rock, unless you have to carry a bunch of them.
Nic Green
2025-01-07 21:16:13 +0000 UTCYes.
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 20:54:29 +0000 UTCtheoretically it does have some advantages (large bomb on a small spigot) but have you seen some of the things the poor sods were going to potentially stop an invasion with? or the Piat. although the Navy Hedgehog launcher was a success. but generally obstreperous is the best descriptor
Edmond Griffith-Jones
2025-01-07 20:50:48 +0000 UTCThe presumption that the authorities got it right is interesting, since they so often do not. The decision to go back to select fire midwar with the AVT-40 is a useful example.
Nic Green
2025-01-07 20:48:59 +0000 UTCGiven the development of the STEn as a replacement for the Lanchester due to the latter's high co$t$ of production in time & material, the question answers itself....
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 20:46:42 +0000 UTCCheap & easily produced? The Brits were really hard up during the war. Most of us today don't have a clear idea of just how bad it was; heck, they didn't end *sugar rationing* til what, 1952?
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 20:43:30 +0000 UTCThey started testing the Czech-developed EM1 & EM2 prototypes starting in 1942, iirc, but they were fully aware that it would be a post-war development; only guns already in use would see wartime production per chain of command. The Brits were utterly opposed to wasting time & scant resources chasing their tails the way the Nazis did searching for the next "wunderwaffe."
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 20:42:00 +0000 UTCTrue, but they chose to use the BESA in their tanks. What's up w/ *that*?
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 20:36:37 +0000 UTCFirearms chambered in American cartridges were generally relegated to home guard and merchant marine use, due to logistical concerns. SOE was probably happy to use anything they could get their hands on, given how the regular Army, etc. despised 'Churchill's band of miscreants...'
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 20:35:03 +0000 UTCM3A1 stayed in use unchanged until the '90s? for tank crews; even the Sterling [far superior replacement for the STEn] had been rotated out of service by the '80s iirc. Much as I'd love to own either one, I'd happily take a Sterling over an M3A1 tho'; I think it's just got a better choice of chambering and superior magazines [the heart of any repeating firearm system.]
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 20:32:39 +0000 UTCBritish adoption of the Lee-Metford in 1886? predates the Mauser action being adopted by anyone but German states (as single-loader.) After that it was probably a case of "we've got it, it works, not changing horses mid-stream..."
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 20:25:54 +0000 UTCNo. The "Arsenal of Democracy" strictly supplied the other allies, who had no "spare" anything to return the favor. The Soviets severely downplayed their reliance upon supplies from the USA, but the reality is that they would have had a hard time staying in the fight w/o them.
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 20:17:57 +0000 UTCThe Nazis reused almost everything they came across, given sufficient ammo supply, to rearm rearguard & friendly allies to free up weapons for frontline troops in standard calibers. They typically assigned captured tanks ["beutepanzer"] to occupation policing, unless battlefield worthy [T34s, Shermans, Churchills.] They didn't hold early war Brit tanks in high regard, so those were all either given over to policing or taken to the Ruhr for recycling. They *did* use every Bren Carrier they could get their hands on & parts to keep running! They quite liked those, apparently.
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 20:13:52 +0000 UTCProbably due to the STEn's crash development as a replacement for the Lanchester SMG and the Navy's requirements it inherited therefrom, but IDK for sure. Probably just an offshoot of outdated thinking the Brits had concerning 'gangster guns..'
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 19:26:05 +0000 UTCAFAIK, it was common practice on all sides to utilize any captured artillery that had been overrun and turn it on its former owners until the ammo supplies ran out [towed arty being all pretty similar & easily figured out.] There was a U.S. Ordnance officer who went over to British N. Africa as an observer who advised them on how to reuse some of the ammo they'd captured from the Italians in Ethiopia, but aside from possibly SAS/SBS, commandos or SOE usage, I very much doubt the Brit regulars would have been allowed leeway to do any such thing.
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 19:12:52 +0000 UTCDoubtful; the Brits were quite happy w/ the Bren after WW2 and were flat broke, so just replacing the old Smelly w/ a semi-auto was almost certainly as far as they were willing to consider at the time.
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 19:04:20 +0000 UTCWikipedia? A quick search on WorldCat brought up zilch on his name, there is a total of ONE result for "fosberry revolver" : The Webley Fosbery automatic revolver Author:K. Dyer HTH
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 18:59:49 +0000 UTCBecause pan mags suck. Same reason the Lewis gun was relegated to the merchant marine in WW2; it wasn't that it wasn't a good lmg, it was that the pan mags were too slow to change and too cumbersome to shlep around. I think they look way cooler, but looks don't win battles...
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 18:57:28 +0000 UTCWith the British manufacture of the SMLE no. 4 mark 1 beginning in 1941 and the continued British manufacture of the SMLE no.1 mark 3* into 1943, there was considerable time during which both rifles were available. What factors went into their distribution to the fighting units? Who got what and why?
David Berard
2025-01-07 18:25:34 +0000 UTCThe Brit’s nearly went to a medium bore more modern cartridge in the p13 before ww1. They Americans almost went to a .276 M1. Was there a UK attempt to adopt a more modern (not rimmed) rifle cartridge to replace the 303 before ww2?
Troy Janda
2025-01-07 17:33:33 +0000 UTCI’ve heard you say before that the Bren is the best LMG of WWII. I’ve always wondered how/why it would compare favorably to the Degtyaryov which is about the same weight, and which enjoys a substantial capacity advantage as well as a profile advantage from the ground (less of a target indicator with no mag reaching up into the sky). So, lay it out for us. Why is the Bren better?
Nic Green
2025-01-07 15:43:47 +0000 UTCWhat's a good source for reading more about Col. George Fosberry.
Jason
2025-01-07 15:33:14 +0000 UTCAre there any hard numbers on the number of tanks that were taken out with anti tank rifles?
Jason Lambert
2025-01-07 13:27:28 +0000 UTCI was about to ask this one. Canada switched but Australia did not. I had a No4 for years but traded it for a No1Mk3 and find it lighter and handier btw
Sam Taylor
2025-01-07 11:52:24 +0000 UTCBritish Officers used to have to purchase their own sidearms but with the advent of ammuntion commonality in WW2 meaning that they got issued a standard Enfield No2, are there any well known examples of any officiers or units carrying something more interesting or exotic than the standard fare?
Graham Moore
2025-01-07 11:32:21 +0000 UTCDrawing on the STEN and the M3/M3A1 both being weapons designed to be easier and cheaper to produce than the SMGs otherwise currently in use, which one was actually the easier/cheaper one? Did the British/Commonwealth ever receive Grease Guns on Lend-Lease? Did they like them if they did?
Cameron Rankin
2025-01-07 10:14:46 +0000 UTCThe Gallilean sights Firetower mentioned were used by the Brits in WW1 until they figured out they were crap compared to a proper, sealed tube telescopic sight design.
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 08:45:39 +0000 UTCMagazines are typically limited due to factors involving the increased spring pressure preventing stripping of the 1st round(s), and increased length interfering with weapon handling. Occasionally the desire to remain loadable w/o special tools also plays a factor.
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 08:41:21 +0000 UTCUh, that would be the S&W M&P in .38/200...
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 08:37:45 +0000 UTCIn regards to the EM1/EM2 series rifles, were there plans for a heavier, designate support version? Did it have it's own equivalent, even if only on paper, of a L86?
Leon Peters-Malone
2025-01-07 07:39:23 +0000 UTCWhere would you rate Britain’s small arms by the end of this he war? Whilst the US will obviously have the best, where would you place them against Germany, France, Russia and Japan. To my view, they end the war with an excellent bolt action and squad LGM, and plenty of adequate SMGs. No wonder weapons but all very British and functional.
Jason White
2025-01-07 07:32:39 +0000 UTCHypothetically if there were sten parts kits airdropped into France and they needed to be welded together, could our brave French resistance fighters complete their kits with JB Weld?
Doug Brown
2025-01-07 07:14:01 +0000 UTCA variety of small arms were collected by the NRA and donated to arm the Home Guard, since the British Army, etc. needed all the weapons in official issue calibers. To my knowledge, the only one returned was a prize match rifle that had a plaque embedded in the stock asking that it be returned; the Brits dumped the rest in the ocean off Land's End after the end of hostilities rather than returning them as they were honor bound to do. Ergo, no more giving guns to the UK, ever, no matter how badly they need them.
Bruce Brodnax
2025-01-07 07:02:58 +0000 UTCSounds like Galilean Sights
firetower
2025-01-07 03:23:39 +0000 UTCWas the Sten the first British designed & manufactured small arm chambered in a non-British cartridge that went into widespread use by the British? If this hadn't been so hastily deployed, do you think there would have been an effort to develop an SMG in .455 auto?
J F Dixon
2025-01-07 03:01:01 +0000 UTCBest Commonwealth sidearm of WWII?
Mack Culverhouse
2025-01-07 02:46:29 +0000 UTCWhen if ever will the British Army adopt an AR type rifle?
Mack Culverhouse
2025-01-07 02:46:08 +0000 UTCWhat weapons did Britain primarily use to supply its allies/resistance groups, and why were they willing to part with those weapons?
AC C
2025-01-07 02:06:36 +0000 UTCwhy did the royal armoured corps use BESA machine guns given they were chambered in 8mm mauser as opposed to something else in .303
Matthew Smith
2025-01-07 00:57:25 +0000 UTCIn addition to weapons of their own production, new and historical, and weapons supplied from the US, did British troops ever use or adopt weapons from other allies (Soviet, French) for routine use? Or to a greater extent, captured weapons? (German, Italian, Japanese, etc.)
Jiří Kučera
2025-01-06 22:15:42 +0000 UTCGiven the benefit of hindsight what was the biggest "missed chance" of British small arms of WW2? For example, weapons/technologies/procurement ideas from the interwar period that were almost adopted but scrapped
Alan
2025-01-06 22:02:27 +0000 UTCI saw a training film once which stated the correct response to a dive-bomber attack was to form into ranks and open fire with the Lee-Enfield, and that would frighten the pilot enough to abandon his run. Was that documented in any manual you've read, or just an enthusiastic director's idea?
moosemaimer
2025-01-06 21:46:53 +0000 UTCWhat kind of small arms were donated by the US, how were they classified and marked, and how were they returned to the US (or not)?
Hans Hull
2025-01-06 21:45:12 +0000 UTCA question I have had for a while is why are so many magazines 30 rounds? During WW2 the British Bren gun had a 30-round magazine. Today the M-16/M-4 and AK-47/74 families have 30 round magazines. In fact, the 32 round Sten gun magazine seems to be a rare exception to the 30-round magazine, but 32 is almost a rounding error on 30. Is it to do with spring strengths? Is it to do with the magazine becoming too long to fit onto a weapon?
Ian Fox
2025-01-06 21:15:49 +0000 UTCSo the 2’ mortar. Commonwealth forces continued to use it well after every other user of same size (37mm - 51) through them away. The US 60mm being a different animal was continued and available to all users of the British 2’ mortar. What was the attraction of the 2’mortar?
Chris Jones
2025-01-06 20:55:41 +0000 UTCWere rifle grenade systems such as the No. 68 AT Grenade common in the British theatre of war? Why or why not?
Marcus Aurellius
2025-01-06 20:51:48 +0000 UTCA brief discussion on small arms in British naval service during the war, especially highlighting any differences they had over the land and paratrooper arms in common use, would be appreciated.
makovette
2025-01-06 20:29:56 +0000 UTCWas any small arms in WWII deliberately chosen or developed for fighting in a specific terrain or climate, like jungle, desert or urban warfare?
RuneBot - Still hanging around...
2025-01-06 20:13:49 +0000 UTCDo you think Operation Sea Lion was ever intended to go ahead or was it maskirovka to cover Barbarossa? Was the .50 Vickers HMG a good weapon? It never seems to be mentioned.
Tony Pardoe
2025-01-06 20:11:47 +0000 UTCHow mich of the research on the ‘aborted’ .280 round was taking place pre ‘45?
Pumba’s Gpa
2025-01-06 20:09:56 +0000 UTCIf the British hadn't lost so much of their equipment at Dunkirk, what changes, if any, do you think this would have had on their small arms development and procurement during the war?
Imperator314
2025-01-06 20:04:50 +0000 UTCWhat ammunition did the Brownings in American made but British operated tanks fire. If 303 were they open bolt like the aircraft guns or standard closed bolt
Fraser
2025-01-06 20:03:15 +0000 UTCWhy did the British/common wealth keep the water cooled vickers when the US and Germans were moving to air-cooled MGs? British use or MK8Z ammunition significantly increased the effect range of the Vickers, can you think of any other similar upgrades that were carried out for Birtish/Commonwealth forces small arms?
Jake Thorner
2025-01-06 20:01:28 +0000 UTCThat sounds like a couple of projects for Jonathan Ferguson and Headstamp Publishing!
Tony Pardoe
2025-01-06 19:57:43 +0000 UTCIf the British were to adopt a semiautomatic service rifle, what would the most likely candidate have been?
Hijack
2025-01-06 19:55:06 +0000 UTCCan you summarize the "open scopes" the British used on SMLEs? My friend has "some lenses without tubes" in his Enfield collection... do you know any good sources?
Risto Alanko
2025-01-06 19:48:37 +0000 UTCBecause of the legendary MP44 had made a major impact in WW2, how does the British military views the MP44 and what guns they’re experimenting after WW2?
Paul Corpuz
2025-01-06 19:38:56 +0000 UTCWhere is the best/easiest place to find information and manuals for British small arms from the Second World War?
David Voisey
2025-01-06 19:33:32 +0000 UTCWhy did the British never adopt a copy of the M1 Garand. Was the US not willing to sell them the technical data package. Or was converting it to 303 just not feasible being a rimmed case.
Derrick Warren
2025-01-06 19:32:10 +0000 UTCIf the war hadn’t ended in 1945 what firearms would they have been using in 1946-47, as in what things were in the pipeline? Was there a shotgun they used during the war?
John Anderson
2025-01-06 19:23:08 +0000 UTCI think earlier war training footage show 1911s and thompsons. the sas/sbs, and in that regard commandos, often seem to have other procurements than the rest of troops, much like the US marines compared to army. while the paras went stens and HP(?) did the sas and commandos stick with 1911s and thompsons, both 45 for easier logistics I suppose, or did they went stens in general later on, too? --- 2nd question would be: did the brits fielded any other stopgap sniper rifle but lee enfields due to shortages land lease or whatever in any numbers to speak of?
Guido Schriewer
2025-01-06 19:17:06 +0000 UTCWhy is the STEN select-fire instead of full-auto only? It seems like all the other "war emergency" or simplified SMGs are full-auto only, yet the STEN isn't. As a previous owner of a STEN (I sold it to help fund a BRP Suomi after watching your videos), I found the semi setting to be particularly worthless. My experience was that the STEN didn't benefit in accuracy in semi because of the crude sights, rattletrap nature, and awkward ergonomics. On the other hand, it was slow enough in full-auto to easily shoot singles or doubles if necessary. The selector and related parts seem like an unnecessary complication for the most basic of SMGs.
Landric Hakon
2025-01-06 19:12:21 +0000 UTCrather a bren than a bar in the role but... ammo and magazins?
Guido Schriewer
2025-01-06 19:04:50 +0000 UTCWhat were any field modifications British soldiers made to their small arms?
Benjamin Helton
2025-01-06 19:03:33 +0000 UTCThe British already used 0.303 versions of the Browning in their aircraft.
James Steed
2025-01-06 19:02:43 +0000 UTCWere any of the small arms that the BEF abandoned in Dunkirk reused by the Germans, since there was alot of ammunition left behind too?
GaryG
2025-01-06 18:59:17 +0000 UTCKnowing that British soldiers were issued American firearms (through Lend-Lease, etc.), were American soldiers issued British firearms in WWII, say like the Webley Mk.VI or any of the excellent British SMG's?
Scott Vaughan
2025-01-06 18:53:57 +0000 UTCMight have something to do with their use of British 303 over 30-06. British 303 is a rimmed cartage and the Vickers was already set up for it.
nada
2025-01-06 18:51:14 +0000 UTCHow prevalent was the use of the Browning Hi-Power/P-35 by the British as a standard sidearm? Was there a particular type of unit that used it more than others (Paras, Commandos, SAS, SOE, etc)? Or was there just a mixed bag of revolvers & semi-automatic's that was used willy-nilly?
Derek Elsberry
2025-01-06 18:50:30 +0000 UTCWhy did not all of the commonwealth switch to the No4 Enfield
Cyrill Hochreutener
2025-01-06 18:48:12 +0000 UTCWhat was the driving force that led to the Lee action on the Lee Enfield being accepted over the Mauser action like the Springfield 1903? Bonus question, Why did Lee choose cock on close? I actually prefer it.
nada
2025-01-06 18:48:08 +0000 UTCDollar for Pound what was the better cheap SMG, the Grease Gun or Sten? (For their respective users at the time) Sten modern cost £135 vs M3 costing $264 (values are as of 2023)
firetower
2025-01-06 18:47:14 +0000 UTCHow prevalent were American weapons (Garand, Thompson, Colt 1911, etc.) in British service and what units (unit types, para's, SOE, etc.) or mission types could they be found with.
Robert Henry Illston
2025-01-06 18:37:11 +0000 UTCConsidering the cost and complexity of producing the Vickers machine gun (and the fact that they didn't use it in their tanks), did the British ever consider adopting the Browning 1919 as standard issue?
James Steed
2025-01-06 18:29:35 +0000 UTCIs there any WWII British small arms that you haven't covered that you'd like to?
Andrew Carver
2025-01-06 18:29:27 +0000 UTCSpigot Mortars. Why?
Edmond Griffith-Jones
2025-01-06 18:29:20 +0000 UTCDid the British, like the Americans, Soviets and Germans, do any research, manufacturing, testing, fielding or indeed wishful thinking regarding a self loading rifle during the war? Or, as with other technologies and the UK's predicament, was the focus more on manufacturing as many Lee Enfields and other, proven weapons with manufacturing already tooled up? I imagine even if they had been planning to try it earlier, Dunkirk changed the calculus pretty irrevocably anyway, but I'd be curious to hear your knowledge and analysis. Sincerely, A British Person
Alex Forsyth
2025-01-06 18:29:20 +0000 UTCAccounting for machine hours, quality, and other factors, which is the better SMG for the Brits in WWII, the Lancaster, or the Sten?
Nic Green
2025-01-06 18:28:44 +0000 UTCWhy does it seem that Britain was not really at all interested in a squad level belt fed machinegun? Was the Bren just that good that they decided they didn’t need a belt fed? Or did they have to focus their small arms procurement elsewhere and the lightweight belt fed just took a back seat compared to everything else?
Michael S
2025-01-06 18:26:55 +0000 UTC
